How to know if my iPhone 8 is brand new or been activated before

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Level 1

9 points

How to know if my iPhone 8 is brand new or been activated before

15 days ago I bought a new iPhone 8 from a local retailer (not an Apple Store), the box was not sealed but I bought it anyway. A few days ago I noticed a very subtle rough edge in the lower left corner of the back of the phone so I had suspicions. I entered the serial number of the phone into checkcoverage.apple.com and it mentioned that my warranty will end on the 30th of January 2019 whereas the date of my purchase and activation is March 8th, isn’t it supposed to be a one year warranty? Does this mean that my iPhone has been activated for the first time before my purchase on January 30 2018? Please help!

Posted on Mar 23, 2018 2:31 AM

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Answer 1

Mar 23, 2018 6:36 AM in response to K4rl

"We activate it to check if it's working properly" is bulls---. It should come in a sealed box. You should get a refund or exchange for a new one. All my iPhones came from Apple, and they all came in sealed boxes. In addition I got them at an Apple Store in Toronto, Ontario. This included a phone inspection to make sure nothing was wrong. Brand new phones have a type of plastic protector around the whole phone to prevent damage. If I discover something is wrong, I'm right there.

Put it this way. Caveat Emptor if you get anything unsealed like that. But I would definitely switch it out for a sealed version.

Another possibility is someone returned it, and the seller resold it to you.

Back up the phone and then take it back and get a new one that hasn't been tampered with.

Mr. Black is correct in his post. I forgot to add the stolen factor.

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Answer 2

Mar 23, 2018 6:33 AM in response to K4rl

You did not buy a new iPhone. You bought a used iPhone. If the seller told you it was new - i.e. never sold at retail before - then they lied.

Note that non-authorized resellers have no access at all to Apple’s official whole sale distribution. They cannot possibly be selling truly retail new devices. Their only sources of devices or used or stolen.

The only Apple Authorized Sellers are those found here - https://locate.apple.com/

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Answer 3

anonyme4321

Level 6

17,275 points

Mar 23, 2018 2:54 AM in response to K4rl

Does this mean that my iPhone has been activated for the first time before my purchase on January 30 2018?

Yes.

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Answer 4

K4rl Author

Level 1

9 points

Mar 23, 2018 4:13 AM in response to anonyme4321

I really don’t know. I paid 750$ for it and after 5 years of being stuck with an iPhone 5 I really wanted a brand new iPhone. But I’m really in no mood for quarreling with the seller that is if he accepts refunds anyway. He will probably start making unjustified excuses like: “We activate it to check if it’s working properly” or so. Plus I spent a lot of time moving everything into the new iPhone and tweaking all the settings.

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